As we mentioned earlier, the P4G8X is powered by one of Intel's newer chipsets known as the E7205 otherwise known more commonly to most as the Granite Bay. The new chipset brings some long awaited features to the long line of Intel chipsets. If Dual Channel Memory support isn't enough for you to consider this motherboard, other features like 8X AGP and Hyper Threading Support should tempt you that little bit more. With great memory bandwidth you can understand why it was originally designed for server usage, couple this with great overclocking features and you end up with a board that is truly for the hardcore computer user.

Gigabit Network thanks to Broadcom

Being a board aimed for server use, the inclusion of Gigabit Network is an excellent feature. It is made possible with the Broadcom BCM5702WKFB chip. While being a bigger fan of the Intel 82540EM Ethernet controller, I was not sure what to expect from the Broadcom but it was absolutely perfect with no hic ups at all. While it will be difficult to take advantage of gigabit networking, hopefully in the not to distant future it will start popping up at more and more place and become the next standard as it has dropped in price significantly.

Overclocking Potential

As far as overclocking goes, the P4G8X motherboard has an excellent list of options that you should find your self tweaking till your heart is content. With Front Side Bus (FSB) adjustments from 100MHz all the way up to 400MHz in 1MHz increments, you shouldn't have a problem finding the maximum FSB for yourself. The voltage core can be adjusted up to XXX so you should be able to get the most use out of higher performance coolers.

Unfortunately it is impossible to adjust the memory speeds due to the features of the Granite Bay chipset not supporting it; the memory must be synchronous with the FSB. If you have RAM that supports a very high FSB you will be unable to get the most potential out of it, unfortunately. On the bright side, like most other motherboards, you can adjust your memory timings including CAS latency, etc.

Like most new motherboards on the market you have the ability to lock your PCI and AGP speeds to 33/66MHz giving you the ability to get the most out of your processor. Up until recently this feature wasn't available on a lot of boards, you would find users video cards and PCI cards would affect the maximum FSB you could achieve.

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